Avenged Sevenfold for Prog Metal

Sums up my thoughts, not there yet but surprisingly different to what I was expecting. I am waiting for some team feedback on this

I also recommend to listen to their 2007 self-titled album.

They've not tried innovative mixtures only recently ;-)

I don't see that happening since they allegedly have a 78-piece orchestra (and they keep talking about it lol)

I'm expecting something in the pseudo-progressive symphonic avant-garde metal territory, along the lines of Diablo Swing Orchestra - either that or they're going full Dream Theater. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Unless their "Metallica worship" is worshipping their S&M live albums, I doubt they'd need the said alleged 78-piece orchestra for that

Here's their single, "Nobody." Frankly, I do not know what to make of it - indeed it is bold, but no more so than it is dull. This is pretty much exactly what I thought the sound was going to be like, but I thought it would have been a lot more interesting than this, honestly - the whole song was a drag, and they definitely took a risk with this one. A lot of people have complained about production here, but frankly, I think it's a considerable step up from The Stage, but the vocal work is less than satisfactory, imo. Prog, idk know about. Avant-garde? Definitely! It is indeed interesting to see how this will fit into the rest of the album... the whole thing will either be one prog opus, with this avant-garde alternative metal fitting into it nicely, or the whole album will be... well, this. The band had two options after The Stage - either refine and hone-in on the sound they created then, which did indeed need some improvement, or push their boundaries further into uncomfortable territory for them, and it seems like they chose the latter. Although with other songs like A Little Piece of Heaven, I'd thought they could handle this symphonic avant-garde sound well. Hopefully this is just a fluke, but that's not to say there are no redeeming factors here. For one, the animation is really vibrant and interesting, the guitar solo is really good (and I'm not usually the type to care for solos), and the atmospheric qualities are utilized well. I also think they nailed the engineering, here. The song does not sound tinny and compressed, like The Stage, but there's still enough dynamism that there's very little clipping, as opposed to their work before The Stage... frankly, I'd say it's their best engineered album (if the whole thing sounds like this) thus far, and actually a great example of how to engineer a metal song in 2023 (which most metal bands STILL can't seem to figure out). It's just a bit meandering and repetitive for me, without enough direction.

I'd say it's a 50/50 chance this album could land them in the Progarchives based off of this, and I'm not too optimistic.

Edit: I also LOVE the new art direction they're heading in for this album! Look at this adorable new deathbat... LOOK AT IT!